Netto EXE
by The Original Marisa
Summary: CHAPTER 6 ADDED! EXEBattle Network Series Rockman's one wish has come true. But is it really all that he thinks it is?
1. Chapter 1

Netto.EXE 

By Marisa

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**Author's notes:** This takes place in the Anime Universe. That is all.

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_An unbearable feeling of cold._

Rockman opened his eyes. A dark figure loomed over him like a walking shadow. The blue navi opened his mouth to ask who it was –

--but before he could speak, the shadow lifted an arm, and plunged his fist through Rockman's chest. A pained scream erupted from the navi's mouth. 

And then there was something else. Something _worse_ than pain. Intrusion. The shadow was lurking through his thoughts, filing through them -

Then it was gone. The hand was no longer in his chest. His mind was secure.

Or, at least, as secure as it had been for the past five years.

Rockman sat up and clutched at his chest. The pain was gone. The cold was gone. The shadow was gone. He wondered if it had been a hallucination—those were becoming more and more frequent for him.

"Rockman?"

Most of them involved Netto…

"Rockman. . ."

Hearing his voice, or seeing the boy before him. . .

"Rockman, I'm here. . ."

"Netto-kun?"

"Yes." Netto smiled. "It's me." He reached out and touched the navi's face, kneeling down. "It's been a while, hasn't it?

"I. . ." Rockman was speechless. "A while, Netto-kun? It's been five years!" He jumped up and hugged him. _Netto hasn't changed a bit! Although his clothes are a bit different. . . _Netto now sported a black bodysuit with a filled in blue circle extending from his left shoulder, to his navel, and over his back. The headband was still there, but the symbol was different:  A jagged purple "C" shape over a flesh colored background. Black gloves and blue boots finished the design.

_Oh, dear God. . . please, don't let this be another illusion. . ._ _I never thought I'd be able to do this. . ._Rockman squeezed Netto tighter. _Not since he died…_

Died.

Rockman pushed Netto away. "No."

"Rockman. . .?

"You're not real. You can't be." He shivered. Netto certainly looked, sounded and _felt_ real. . . but was there any proof of that? And this. . . this was impossible. Netto inside the net? He had a physical body – he wasn't bits of data, like Rockman. . .

"I was brought back to life like this – as a navi." Netto smiled and motioned toward himself. "Oh, Rockman, I wish I could tell you more—but I can't tell you who did this. He doesn't want me to."

"Netto-kun. . ." Rockman breathed, reaching forward to embrace him again. "Oh, God, Netto-kun… you're alive."

--

Soui watched the scene with interest. "Netto-kun, eh?" He murmured, as if tasting the name on his lips. It felt quite natural. "Just slides off the tongue."

He shrugged and leaned back on his chair. "Looks like these two were pretty close."

Netto-kun. . . 

--

"Netto-kun! This is amazing!" Rockman's eyes were filled with countless emotions… excitement, for one. Disbelief, love, happiness… not only was his best friend alive—he was in the _net!_

"I know, Rockman." Netto smiled. 

_Odd,_ Rockman noted, _I would have thought he'd me more excited about this. He's acting so differently. . .or maybe my memory's going? It's been five years…_ Rockman's smiled broadened. _He looks just like how I remember him. _"From now on, Netto-kun. . ." Rockman put his hand on the boy's shoulder, "I'm not leaving your side. We're gonna be together forever!"

Netto shook his head. "I'm sorry, Rockman. . ." He softly pushed Rockman's hand off of his shoulder, and tapped the symbol on his headband. "I'm sorry, Rock—but I can't. I'm a navi now, and I have an operator." 

"An operator?" Rockman breathed in disbelief. "No! Netto-kun…you can't. . .!"

Netto shook his head. "Master Soui needs me."

"_Master. . ._Soui. . .?" Rockman echoed. This couldn't be happening. After a brief moment of consideration, he latched onto his former-operator's arm. "No! _No!_ Netto-kun, I haven't seen you in years! _I'm not losing you now!"_

Netto growled and yanked his arm away. "Get—_off_—me!"

Rockman was thrown to the wall. _He's strong!_ "Netto-kun… I… you're not acting like yourself at all!"

"I've changed a lot the past four years, Rockman!"

"_Four years!_" Rockman exclaimed, "You've been alive that long and didn't tell me?"

"I've been busy!" Netto opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped. The symbol on his headband was blinking. "I have to go. Master is calling me." His angered face turned cheerful. "Tomorrow, maybe we can go to Net City. . . or maybe the SciLabs?" He smiled. "I. . . really miss papa."

"Maybe." Rockman nodded, a little baffled at the moodswing.

Netto nodded. "Great! And maybe after that, you and I can netbattle." With a thumbs up, there was a stream of light, and Netto was gone in a flood of pixels.

_But now, I know he's not gone for good._ Rockman smiled.  


	2. Chapter 2

_"Netto-kun, wake up!"_

_"Eh. . . Rockman, what's going on?"_

_"Netto-kun! Please! Get up now, or you'll die!"_

_"Rockman. . .wha. . .?"_

_"Your house is on **fire**, Netto-kun!"_

_". . .HOLY CRAP!"_

_------_

Netto.EXE – Chapter 2 

By Marisa

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"Master Soui, I'm back." Netto stated, appearing into his PET.

"It's about time." Soui said with a smirk, and added, "_Netto-kun."_

Netto scowled, but said nothing. 

"So, _Netto-kun,_ are you and Rockman becoming good friends? I hear you plan to have a friendly netbattle with him, _Netto-kun._" Soui laughed. "Hmm, is he going to show you around Net City, _Netto-kun?_ Now that I think of it, _Netto-kun-"_

_"STOP IT!"_ Netto exclaimed. "Stop calling me that!" He regretted the action immediately, and knew what would come next.

Soui scowled. "You've forgotten your place, _Netto-kun._" 

"I'm sorry, Master-"

"Ah, but you've been sorry before, and these situations _still_ arise." Soui smirked. "If a Navi is disobedient, he must be punished."

"Soui-kun, what do you think you're doing?"

Soui whirled. "Furukizu-san!"

A tall, violet-haired man by the name of Furukizu stood behind Soui. "Abusing your Navi again?" He said, with a shake of his head. "You don't understand, Soui – I programmed him with intelligence, feelings and emotions-"

"And therefore," Soui continued, "He has the ability to understand why I punish him, and fix the problem!"

Furukizu didn't hesitate to slap Soui across his scarred face. "Soui-kun, you don't appreciate a thing I do for you, and you haven't listen to a thing I've taught you." He growled. "Bend a stick too far and it will break. Navis are the same!"

"You don't understand!"

"_You're_ the one who doesn't understand, Soui." Furukizu snapped. "When I found you, you were just a scared little boy – you couldn't even remember your own name!" He reached forward and touched Soui's face—scarred to a gruesome pink, black and white combination by some unknown torture in his forgotten past. "Do you know why I named you Soui?"

"Because of my scarred face." Soui murmured, flinching as Furukizu ran his thumb over one particularly sensitive spot under his eye.

"Many people would have just let you die—it's human nature not to like something they don't find attractive." Furukizu stated. "But I took you in, those years ago… and you haven't shown me an ounce of gratitude."

Soui stood silent. 

"You're an exceptional netbattler, Soui. And that why I gave you this job to do. But it doesn't involve beating your NetNavi to death!" Furukizu exclaimed, "Break into Hikari's computers and bring back the information. That's all I ask." 

"Yes sir." Soui mumbled as Furukizu left the room.

---

"Netto's alive?"

"Yes! He's alive! I saw him yesterday!" Rockman exclaimed, bubbling with happiness. "He said that a scientist brought him back to life as a Navi – but he couldn't say his name, so I didn't ask—"

"Why not?" Yuuichirou asked impatiently. "For all we know, that's not Netto at all."

"Yeah, well… it _has_ to be!" Rockman exclaimed desperately, "It just _has_ to!"

Yuuichirou sighed. He wanted to believe it as much as Rockman did, but it just seemed impossible. Netto had been dead for four years – and if he had been alive for three of them, why did he stay in hiding until now?

The scientist tapped the spacebar, as he normally did when he was thinking. The cursor moved across the screen and eventually whapped Rockman in the head.

"Ow, careful with that thing." Rockman laughed nervously, rubbing the sore.

"Sorry." Yuu mumbled absent-mindedly. _Netto…have you really come back from the dead? _"Rockman…If Netto comes back…" Yuuichirou murmured, "bring him here, okay? I want to run a few tests."

Rockman slowly nodded. "All right."

"Thanks. Anyway, you'd better get back home." Yuuichirou smiled. "Check the house over for viruses, you know…wouldn't want another fire like last time…"

Rockman froze, a look of horror on his face.

The scientist noticed the sudden change in Rockman. "Is something wrong?"

The navi stood staring at the ground, not seeming to hear him.

"Rockman?"

"Netto-kun…" he mumbled absent mindedly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned the fire…"

Rockman shook his head. "No, no, I'm sorry. It's nothing…" The navi was ready to break into sobs. He didn't mind it when somebody mentioned the fire that had killed Netto—more of how it was started.

It was late. Netto-kun and Rockman had stayed up late playing games online. They were both very tired. 

Rockman decided not to check over the house for viruses that night. _After all,_ he had said, _there's never anything serious…_

And that night, a virus in a hallway light fixture caused the bulb to explode. The hallway was in flames.

Not long after, so was the rest of the house.

Netto hadn't survived.

Rockman never forgave himself. _I killed Netto-kun…_

"Are you all right, Rockman?" Yuuichirou asked worriedly.

"I'm sorry, papa." Rockman choked, "I-I'm going to go home now."

With that, he logged out.

Yuuichirou frowned, wondering what had upset him so much.


	3. Chapter 3

"A fire?" Netto gasped, "How did-" 

_"It doesn't matter how, Netto-kun! Just get out of the house!"_

_The boy shook his head. "Not without you!" He stepped out of bed and began to make his way through the flames._

_"Netto-kun, no! I'm not important!"_

_"Yes, you are!" He reached towards his desk and grasped the PET, hugging it to his chest. Rockman could hear the boy's quickened heartbeat. '_He's frightened,' _Rockman realized. _

_"Oh, no!" In Netto's rush to get the PET, his path to the door was blocked by a wall of fire. He glanced around the room. _'There's a fire extinguisher in my closet, but I can't get to that, either!' _With another glance, he saw the way out. "The window!"_

---

Netto.EXE – Chapter 3 

By Marisa

---

"There you are, Rock!" Netto exclaimed with a wave as Rockman logged back into his home computer. 

_Netto's computer._

"Hey, Netto-kun!" Rockman smiled. "Listen, papa wants to run a few tests on you. He…uh…isn't convinced that you're real."

Netto shrugged. "Not a prob-_owwch!"_ He twitched suddenly and clutched his chest. Rockman blinked in surprise.

"Is something wrong, Netto-kun?"

The boy shook his head. "No, nothing." _What did you do THAT for, Master?_

Soui's voice replied in his head, _You can't let Doctor Hikari run tests on you! They'll find out!_

_That's not a problem, Master. Professor Furukisu already blocked my programming off to everyone but himself._

"Hel-lo? Netto-kun, anyone home?" Rockman waved his hand in front of Netto's face.

"Huh? What?"

Rockman crossed his arms. "I asked you if you wanted to go to Net City afterwards."

Netto smiled. _I've never been to Net City before…_

_Don't waste your time! _Soui scolded. _You've got a job to do, and do it fast! Net City will only slow you down._

With a sad sigh, Netto replied, "Sorry, I can't… but listen, maybe afterwards… we could have that netbattle?" 

Rockman grinned. A netbattle with Netto-kun? _That_ should be interesting… "All right. Although… I don't have anyone to give me chips…"

"That's okay. I'll go easy on you." Netto gave him a thumbs up. "Now, off to the SciLabs to see papa?"

"Yeah! Although… we might have to take a few minutes to get you proper security clearance." 

Netto gave a sly grin, but Rockman didn't notice. "That's not a problem at all, Rock."

---

"Papa!" Rockman called. 

"Ah, there you are." Yuuichirou smiled warmly. "And you've got Netto with you, I see." 

"Papa…" Netto breathed, "I missed you so much..."

Cut the dramatics! 

_You TOLD me to be convincing, Master!_

"I missed you too, Netto." Yuu sighed. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to have a glance at your programming."

Netto shook his head. "I don't mind."

Yuuichirou nodded, and proceeded to open Rockman in a word processing program. However…

"Please enter…twenty-digit password?" Yuuichirou choked. "Twenty digits, eh? Someone doesn't want me to know how you work…"

"I'm sorry, papa."

"No, it's all right. Rock, how many different password combinations are there?"

"Hold on a minute." Rockman did the calculations in his head. "Two…don't have the word for it, four hundred thirty-two…um…quadrillion, nine hundred two trillion, eight billion, one hundred seventy-six million, six hundred forty thousand." 

Yuuichriou sighed. "All right, then. So much for random guessing." He sighed, resting his chin on his folded hands. "So, Netto – do you like being a navi?"

Netto nodded and smiled. "It's wonderful, papa. Although I…uh…do miss being human…"

"What's with that new symbol on your head and chest, anyway?" 

"Oh, this?" Netto pointed to his headband. "I'm a navi, don't forget. This is my operator's symbol. His name's Soui."

"Hm." Yuu smirked, a sly glint in his eye "I wonder if this is anything like the day you met Rockman. Tell me, Netto… who _was_ it you lost a battle with the day before you met Rockman? I was in Borneo at the time."

Netto's eyes went wide for a moment. "That is… um…" 

_…He's got us now._ Soui noted.

"That's all in the past, right?" Netto laughed. "After all, since I got Rockman, everything before that has been kind of fuzzy." The boy wrapped his arm around Rockman's shoulders, and the blue Navi smiled.

"I see." Yuu smiled. "In that case, you two can go. I'm through."

With a few goodbyes, the two Navis logged out. 

Yuuichirou began to type an email.

"Hey, how about that Netbattle now?" Netto suggested. 

Rockman grinned. "All right! But don't think I'll go easy on you." Rockman winked.

"Heh. I'm not holding back, either." Netto gave a thumbs-up. "How about we go over to Soui's computer? He's got a great program that lets you Netbattle in different environments, and he hasn't gotten to try it out yet."

Rockman widened his eyes in curiosity. "Really? What kind of environments?"

"Well, I can't remember all of them," Netto started, "But the coolest sounding one is the Coliseum. They've got an audience and everything!"

"Wow!" Rockman exclaimed, "It's settled. We're going to Soui's computer!"

--

"Are you ready?" Netto asked, standing at one end of the Coliseum.

"I'm ready." Rock answered, getting into a fighting stance.

"Go!"

The two charged at each other. Rockman knew that Netto had the advantadge—the boy knew Rockman's attacks and strategies, while Rock was clueless as to what Netto could do.

The first thing the boy did after charging to the edge of his area was bring his hands together, then slowly pull them apart. Something black appeared between them, and Netto grasped it.

"Dark Whip!" He called, bringing the whip down and forward. It extended forward across the three units of Rockman's area, hitting the blue clad Navi square in the chest.

Rockman gasped, clutching at the wound. He hadn't expected _that._

"Rockbuster!" Rockman exclaimed, his arm forming a cannon and firing at Netto. The boy dodged easily, tossing another attack with his whip, hitting Rockman in the side.

_Okay, gotta think about this._ Rock thought, _He's agile, and he has a long attack. That means if I try to dodge, he can probably still catch me._ Rockman fired his Rockbuster again. _My best chance is to stay in the middle, and then get to a corner when he raises his whip._

With that, he moved to the center of his area, and fired another Rockbuster. Netto raised his whip, and Rockman dodged as planned. However, Netto quickly flicked his wrist, causing the dark whip to change direction. This time, instead of just hitting Rockman, it actually wrapped around his arms and waist. Netto yanked it forward, jerking Rock along with it.

"Sword!" Netto called, as his arm morphed into a glowing blue sword. He pulled Rockman close and slashed him in the stomach with the blade.

"N-Netto-kun!" Rockman gasped, clutching at the wound, "I-I think t-that's enough for now…"

"What are you talking about, Rock?" Netto sneered, his arm morphing into an M-Cannon. "You haven't even been deleted yet!"

_D-Deleted?!_ Rockman's mind echoed, _He's trying to DELETE me?!_

"M-CANNON!" Netto fired the cannon. Rockman, too wounded to dodge, was hit by the blast. He fell to the ground, gasping. "N-Netto-kun…wh…why?"

Netto kneeled down next to him. "There there, Rockman. Don't feel bad. Don't think of it as your former operator deleting you…" He leaned down and softly, very softly, whispered to the navi, "After all, I'm not even Netto."

Rock felt like he had suddenly frozen into a block of ice. _He's…not…Netto…! Damn, I should have listened to papa…should have known…_ He stared up at Netto's eyes. _I wanted to believe it so badly, though…_

"There he is."

"Well I'll be… it _is_ Hikari, isn't it?"

"And Rockman…"

"Wait a minute… Hikari looks like he's… about to delete Rockman?"

"I'll stop them."

"Elec Sword!" Netto called, his arm forming the sparking blade. "Time to die, Rockman." With that, he brought the sword down upon the Navi…

…but the blade never reached its target, as a pink sword smashed the Elec Sword in two.

"Who's there?!" Netto called, whirling to see his new opponent.

"Greetings, Hikari." Blues stated. "Dare I ask why you're trying to delete Rockman?"

"Ah, Blues. I wondered if I'd see you." Netto smirked. "So sorry we won't know each other for long. AQUA SWORD!"

Blues took no time slashing Netto in the arm as the boy was getting a new weapon.

"Gah! Don't let your guard down, you idiot!" A new voice called. 

Blues stepped back and looked around. "Who are you?"

"Ah, you haven't met me yet, have you?" The smirk could be heard in his voice. "My name is Soui. I've heard quite a lot about you and your operator, Blues-san. Such an honor to meet you… and to delete you." 

Blues got into a fighting stance.

"DARKMAN! DELETE THEM BOTH!"

Netto nodded, as his features faded away to nothing but a charred black. "Yes, Master Soui."


	4. Chapter 4

_"Rock, I'm going to jump out the window."_

_"Like hell you are!"_

_"It's our only chance!"_

_"Netto-kun, I'll signal for help-"_

_"What good will it do?!" Netto exclaimed, already heading for the window. Netto tried his best to maneuver through the flames—but his trip was cut short as his burning bookshelf crackled and shot sparks straight at Netto._

_"Agh! I can't see--!" Netto cried, throwing the PET forward in surprise. Surprisingly, the module crashed through the pane instead of bouncing off, leaving Rockman tumbling to the ground._

_"**NETTO-KUUUN!"** Rockman cried, only moments before the PET slammed into the ground. The impact knocked something inside the module out of place, and the screen went black._

---

Netto.EXE ~ Chapter 4 

By Marisa

---

Blues charged forward, sword aimed square at Darkman's chest. The black-suited Navi was, however, ready for him—he ducked the slash and shoved his fist straight into Blues's chest.

The red navi cried out in both pain and surprise, the latter due to the fact that Darkman could have dodged his attack. He was paralyzed; something in Darkman's attack must have done that to him. 

"Did I mention my special ability?" Darkman purred, "I can search through your memories, Blues—and I can transform into any of every person, navi, or virus you've ever encountered."

Blues didn't deny it. He could _feel_ Darkman probing through his thoughts and memories. _Go! Get out of here!_ He tried to say, but no words came out.

"Blues! Move!" Enzan called out urgently. Blues tried his hardest to answer. _Enzan-sama… I'm sorry…!_

"Found it. The perfect one." Darkman yanked his arm from Blues's chest and jumped backwards. Soon, the black Navi was surrounded by a flood of multi-colored pixels, and Blues was unable to see through the fog they created.

He stepped back and readied his sword. "I'm ready for any type of monster you can throw at me!" Blues snarled. "I've defeated every opponent, and whoever you become, I can defeat them again!"

"Can you, now?" Darkman cackled. His voice was changing from a low, masculine growl to something lighter—almost feminine. "Let's see how you can handle _this!"_

Blues put one foot forward and leaned on it, ready to charge.

The wave of pixels cleared, leaving Darkman's new form visible.

Blues's heart, if he had one, would have stopped.

"Y-you…"

"That's right, me." Darkman said, in the form of Enzan Ijuuin.

Blues lowered his sword and stepped back. "No…" he choked, "I can't…"

"Blues! That's _not_ me_!"_ Enzan called. "Delete him, now!"

Darkman chuckled. "That's right, Blues. Go on, delete me. Or does the very _idea_ of hurting your _precious_ Enzan-sama just _tear your heart out_?"

Blues shook his head. "I can't do it…"

"Yes you _can,_ Blues!" Enzan cried out. "You have to—don't you see? He's using _me_ as a weapon! 

Blues was frozen in place. "I-I know, but still, something inside me…" He reached his free hand up and placed it on his chest—where his heart would be if he were human.

"In _that_ case," Darkman smirked, and his whip appeared in his hand. "DARK WHIP!" The black strip struck Blues on his face. He flinched, and touched the wound with his free hand. Another strike of the whip, this time wrapped around and snapped across Blues's back.

"Darkman… please, stop…" Blues whimpered.

Those words sent a wave of horror through Enzan. Was Blues… _begging_ him? "Blues! Please! You _have_ to come to your senses!"

"I c-can't…" Blues choked, as the whip struck him across the chest. The red navi fell to his knees, keeling over with pain. "Enzan-sama…Darkman, stop…I'm begging you…"

I can't watch this any longer! Enzan mentally growled. "Blues, grab Rockman and log out!" 

"Oh _no you don't!"_  Darkman growled, as Blues slowly stood up. The black navi struck him again, but this time, Blues managed to stay up. He made his way over to Rockman and grabbed the blue Navi's arm. 

"Let's get out of here." Blues choked, as he logged out, taking Rockman with him.

"Damn!" Darkman growled.

"No worries. They won't bother us any more—not after _that."_ Soui chuckled.

Blues logged into Enzan's PET, clutching Rock in his arms for comfort. "I-I couldn't s-stop him…" He choked, setting Rockman down.

"Blues…" Enzan murmured, not sure how to comfort him.

"I couldn't… I _knew_ it wasn't really you, and I _still couldn't beat him…"_ Blues fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around himself. "Enzan-sama, I'm so sorry. It's just… _you're_ the only thing that's important to me… and I just couldn't hurt you…"

Enzan only stared, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw something wet roll down Blues's cheek from under his visor. 

Enzan clutched his hand into a fist. _Darkman AND his crap operator Soui are going to pay dearly for this!_

As if to answer his vow, a screen appeared, and a face was projected on it—the face of Soui. "Well, Ijuuin, it seems you've met your match." He was a  boy about the age of seventeen. Dark eyes were the only relief from the horrid sight of his completely scarred face – most of which was covered by his greasy, dark-brown locks of untamed hair. "So sorry I can't stay longer—I've got work to do, you see. Just came by to gloat. I wouldn't suggest trying to track me—I've routed this message through a couple countries already. Well, duty calls. Bye now!" With a chuckle, the screen disappeared.

Enzan only stared. Then a smirk crossed his face. "That idiot. Now I have his face."

He immideately began his search.

"An email?" Yuuichirou mumbled to himself, "Ah, it's from Enzan…"

_Hikari-hakase:_

_I got your email. You were right, it wasn't really Rockman. Tracked him down. His navi, which really goes by the name of 'Darkman', was a powerful enemy. Blues and I had to regroup and plan our attack better. Also, he nearly deleted Rockman._

His operator is someone by the name of 'Soui'. However, I've done a thorough search, and there is no netbattler in Japan of his age with that name. I caught a glimpse of his face, and I'm going to try to find out his identity. I will email you if anything further comes up.

"Regroup? Ah, it seems Blues finally got his butt kicked." Yuuichirou chuckled. 

"Blues, bring up the next one."

"Enzan-sama, is this a good idea?"

"His face was scarred, but I can see his eyes, nose, and hair color. We'll find him."

Blues sighed. "But searching the database of _every child in Akihara?_ Enzan, are you _sure_ you have _this _much free time?"

"Bring up the next one, Blues."

The red navi sighed and opened the next photo.

Enzan compared the photos for a few minutes. "Same eyes, same nose, same age… Soui, I've found you." He chuckled. "And you were there _all along!_"

"Hikari-hakase, I have some news that might interest you." Enzan's face appeared on Yuuichirou's screen.

"Hello there, Enzan. Did you find Soui's identity?"

"Yes, I did. I searched the database of every child in Akihara for the past ten years. Didn't have to look very long, though. His name wasn't Soui, by the way."

"You told me that, Enzan. What _is_ his name?"

"Hikari Netto."


	5. Chapter 5

A burning pain sprang throughout Netto's face as the sparks hit him. "Aah! Rockman, I can't see…Rockman?" 

_No answer._

_"ROCKMAAAN!" Netto fumbled around, desperately praying he didn't randomly run into a patch of flames. '_It's hot…'_ He thought, _'So hot…'

_Netto nearly fell backwards as he hit something solid… and cool. _The window! I found it!_ His hands found the locks and opened them, and he struggled to pull the window open._ 'All right… now or never!'_   
"BANZAAAIIII!" Netto climbed out the window and dropped.  
His last thought before unconsciousness was, "Wow, the ground is harder than I thought… my head hurts…"_

-----

Netto.EXE – Chapter 5 

By Marisa

----

_"Netto?!"_ Yuuichirou exclaimed, "Enzan, is this some type of _joke?!"_

"It's not a joke, Dr. Hikari." Enzan turned his head and typed something in on his computer. Two pictures appeared on Yuuichirou's screen. 

"The first one, on the right, is Soui."

Yuuichirou sucked in a breath. _Oh my god, that poor boy…_ He thought sympathetically, noting the scarred face. A twang of sadness shot through him as he realized that 'poor boy' might actually be his own son.

"His face is extremely scarred," Enzan continued, "But that's not what I'm telling you to look at. Note his eyes, hair color, and nose. Compare them to the picture on the left, which I'm sure you recognize."

The left picture was Netto, of course. His most recent school picture. _Their hair color…_ Yuuichirou thought, _Okay, so it's the same, but that doesn't mean anything. Eyes?_

_Same color, same size, same angle… so their eyes are the same. Nose… yeah, same shape, same position…_

"Netto…" Yuuichirou sighed, burying his face in his hands, "Netto, what could have driven you to do something so cruel?" He sighed, and placed his hands back on the keyboard. With a sigh, he said to the white haired boy, "Enzan. Rockman can _not_ know about this. Do you understand?"

"I understand. Now excuse me, I have a navi to track down."

----

_Netto-kun…_

It wasn't him.

_Netto-kun…_

"I miss you, Netto-kun…"

Netto-kun… 

"They used you against me, Netto-kun. Can you believe it?"

Rockman was lying on his back, staring up at the endless void of the Net that was programmed to look like a sky. It changed colors with the time of day.

Heaven's in the sky, and Netto's in Heaven…

"They used you as a weapon, Netto-kun. Against me." Rockman blinked back tears. "How dare they… do something so cruel…" He sat up and clenched his hand into a fist. "They'll pay. I swear they will."

"Rockman!" A Navi logged into the site that Rockman was in, gasping for breath. "Rockman, it's an emergency!"

"Roll?" Rock called, "What happened?"

"It…It's Gutsman!" She gasped. "Oh, Rock—he just went crazy! I don't know why…but…"

Rock thought for a moment. "Roll, there's this navi on the rampage—Darkman—that can transform into Navis and such. I think maybe that might be him disguised as Gutsman."

"Transform into Navis?" Roll blinked. "Why would Darkman be after you?"

"Most likely to lure me into a trap. He's been trying to delete me…he even disguised himself as Netto-kun to do it."

Roll gasped. "He didn't! That monster! All right, I'll show you where he is. Be careful."

Rock nodded, took Roll's hand, and they both logged out.

====

"I have a lock on him, Enzan-sama."

"Good. Can you access the website?"

"It's password-protected, but nothing I can't crack."

"All right."

====

"Roll-chan…" Rock murmured, staring at the blank website, "I don't see anyting. Just… white. I don't think Darkman was ever here. Why would he be, anyway?"

"I don't know." Roll murmured. "But if he found a way to lure you here, he'd most likely show up _then…_"

Rock laughed nervously. "How would he manage to lure me—" He was cut short as something black, tight, and strong wrapped around him. _The whip! _Rock turned his head and glared at Roll. "You're Darkman, aren't you?"

"When did I say I wasn't?" Darkman teased. "My, my, Rockman—your friends are your greatest weakness. Know what your problem is? Pure heart." With a yank, Darkman tightened the whip. Rockman gasped, and tried to break free.

Darkman's free arm morphed into a sword. "Now, then—time to finish what I started." He pointed the sword at Rockman. "Time to join your operator."

**_WHAM!_**

**_THUD!_**

With a blow to the head from the flat side of Blues's sword, Darkman was out cold. Blues cut the whip with the blade, setting Rockman free.

"Ah! Thanks, Blues. That hurt."

Blues only shrugged. 

"Rockman." Enzan stated simply, his image appearing on a floating screen. "Leave. We need to delete Darkman and have a talk with Soui."

"No. Darkman impersonated Netto-kun—and _I'm_ the one that will make him pay."

"Rockman, no. You don't have the power to delete him—and we have something to say to Soui that I don't think you'll like."

"I'm going to delete him." Rockman's arm formed a buster. "This is for Netto-kun--!"

"Rockman, _no!"_

"Enzan, I _have_ to do this! I know Darkman and Soui didn't kill him, but…but I feel like this is the only way I can avenge Netto-kun's death!"

Enzan frowned, very annoyed at Rockman's attitude. With a growl, he exclaimed at Rockman, "Netto's not dead!" 


	6. Chapter 6

_Netto awoke only a few minutes later. "Where am I?"_

_His vision was fuzzy, and he got to his knees. Another question came to mind. "Who am I?"_

_He was next to something tall. Big and tall.._

**_House._**__

_A house. He was next to a house. On another side of the house, he could hear sirens, screaming, and see bright lights… no, something bad was happening over there. He wouldn't go._

_He wandered off, away from the house… _

_----_

Netto.EXE:  Chapter Six 

By Marisa

----

"He's… not dead?" Tears came to Rockman's eyes. Netto wasn't dead! As in, Netto was alive! As in, not dead! NOT DEAD! Wonderful! Absolutely fabulous!

…wait, then where _was_ Netto?

"Netto, I'm sorry, I'll explain everything _after_ we delete Darkman." Enzan stated. "Blues, do it."

With that, Blues conjured a sword, and shoved it in the middle of the unconscious navi's chest. With a beep, Darkman (still in the form of Roll) disappeared in a wave of pixels.

"Now, Rockman." Blues looked up. "This is going to be hard for you to hear."

Rockman only stared. "Wh-what is it? I mean, Netto's alive, right?"

"Yes. He's been alive, and we've spoken with him." Enzan stated. 

"Y-you have?" Rockman stuttered excitedly, "Wait, why didn't you tell me about it?"

"We didn't know it was him." Enzan said coolly.

Rockman waited for him to continue. When he didn't, the blue-clad navi finally asked, "Who is he?"

Enzan didn't answer. 

"Who _is_ it, Enzan?"

"Rock… I…"

Blues interrupted. "Would you like _me_ to tell him, Enzan-sama?"

"Tell me what?" Rockman choked, "Why… is it really that bad?"

"I'll tell him, Blues." Enzan shook his head. "Rockman, he's Soui."

"What?"

"Soui, Rockman. Netto and Soui are one in the same."

Rockman only stared. Then a smirk formed on his face. A chuckle escaped, which soon escalated into laughter.

"Rockman…"

"That's a good one, Enzan!" Rockman laughed. "I didn't think you were capable of making jokes, the way you're always so serious…" The navi fought back the idea that maybe, just _maybe_, he was telling the truth. He couldn't be! After all, why would Netto try to delete him? 

"Rockman, this isn't a joke." Enzan stated coldly. "Soui is Netto. I don't know what kind of motives are driving that boy, but he's dangerous." 

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"You're _LYING!" _Rockman logged out immedieately, refusing to listen to the white-haired boy any longer.

"Rockman--!" Enzan slapped his forehead. _Crap! And I promised Hikari that I wouldn't tell Rockman about it…_ "Blues, go after him, and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Yes, Enzan-sama." Blues disappeared after Rockman.

----

Soui stared at the computer screen. _Where are you, Darkman?_ He growled mentally, _You were supposed to be back ten minutes ago…!_

"Hello there, Soui." Enzan's face appeared on his screen. 

Soui blinked. "What do _you_ want, Ijuuin?" He growled. 

"Well, I just wanted to give you my sympathy on the loss of your navi. It's _so_ sad."

"D-Darkman?" He choked, "What do you mean?!"

"I _mean_ that Blues deleted your Darkman." Enzan smirked. "Although, it doesn't seem to be too bad—after all, you still have Rockman, _Hikari-san."_

Soui blinked at the name. The way Enzan spoke it… it reminded him of something. "What did you call me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, would you prefer _Netto?"_ Enzan smirked. "That's who you _are,_ isn't it?"

Soui was silent. His eyes had gone wide and blank.

"…Soui? Netto?" Enzan frowned. "Hey, are you there?"

Soui stared ahead, not seeming to be aware of the Netbattler. "Netto…?"

Enzan's frown deepened. "Answer me, would you?"

Soui didn't hear him. _Netto…that name stirs something in my mind…could he be right? Am I that boy Darkman morphed into?_ _The one that Rockman loved so much?_

Rockman…

FLASH! 

_"Do you hear it, Rockman?"_

_"Yes. Your heartbeat is about one ninety-eight…sounds like you're nervous."_

_"I'm not nervous! I'm excited! _

_Soui only watched. He could see it, but the images were fuzzy…he was looking through someone's eyes, staring down into a PET…_

_"Rockman, thank you... For being my Navi."_

FLASH! 

Soui blinked. He was suddenly back in his room, staring at the computer, which still showed Enzan's half angry, half-worried face.

"I…" Soui paused, then frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about! I'm not Netto! I…I _can't…_I can't be Netto…no…I won't believe it! Shut up! SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Soui-!"

The scarred boy reached over and switched his computer off.

"Stupid, stupid, white haired boy! I'm not Netto! I'm _not!"_  He looked up, seeing his reflection in the darkened monitor. 

"What did I do to deserve this?" He hand made a light squeak as he ran his fingers down the monitor, tracing the outline of his face. 

Enzan blinked. "Wasn't expecting that…" He murmured. 

_'I can't be Netto… I won't believe it…_' Enzan recalled. _What did he mean by that? Could it be…he has amnesia?_

"Enzan-sama." Blues appeared in Enzan's PET. "I'm sorry, I lost track of Rockman."

"Then find him again, Blues." Enzan commanded. "We can't lose him. He might be an important key in bringing back Netto's memory." 

"Netto has amnesia?"

"I believe so. He certainly acted like it when I tried to tell him."

Blues nodded. "All right. I'll try to find him."

Rockman zipped through random websites, trying to get his mind off the situation. _Soui tried to delete me… Soui is Netto-kun… so Netto-kun tried to delete me…does Netto-kun hate me? Why? What did I do wrong? Oh, Netto-kun…why is this happening? Please, God, help me…_

"Rockman."

The blue clad navi stopped running and turned to face the speaker. "What do you want, Blues?"

Blues extended a hand in invitation. "To escort you back to your PET. You're safer there."

Rockman shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore. Netto-kun hates me-"

"No he doesn't, Rockman. Soui might, but Netto doesn't." Blues stated. "Enzan-sama believes that your operator might have amnesia. That would explain quite a bit."

Rockman only stared. He made a choking sound as a tear rolled down his cheek. "That's even worse…" He started, "knowing that Netto-kun doesn't even _remember _me is—_mmph!"_

Rock's words were muffled and cut off as Blues wrapped his arms around him, and Rockman's face was shoved into the red Navi's chest. 

With a cry, Rockman pulled his head back enough to speak. "Blues… _what are you doing?_"

"Trying to comfort you." He stated simply. "Am I doing it wrong?"

"N-no… it's just…" Rockman blinked. "I didn't expect it from _you…_"

"Yes, well, neither did I. But you looked so pitiful."

Rockman took that as an insult, but let it slide. He instead buried his face in Blues's chest once again and started to cry.

Yuuichirou looked up at his screen. "We're seeing a lot of each other today, Enzan." He noted.

Enzan ignored his comment. "I think Netto has amnesia."

"Is that so?" Yuuichirou murmured, a sad look crossing his face. "I see…"

"I would like to borrow Rockman's PET, if you don't mind." Enzan added.

Yuuichirou blinked. "Why?"

"I'm going to try to bring his memory _back."_


End file.
